Misunderstood
by LightLeadingMe
Summary: She was always misunderstood by her friends. They never knew how much help she really needed. Sorry, I totally suck at summaries.


**A/N: I know I'm not finished with "Beneath a Cold Winter Moon" but I'm having a little trouble with the second chapter. I'm sure it will be done by the end of this week so bear with me. This is just sort of a spur of the moment thing and it might develop into a chapter story later on. (It depends on the reviews I get.) You won't find out who the mystery person is until the second or third chapter if this is continued. Thanks for commenting on all my other stories! Enjoy!**

"_You fucking bitch! I can't believe you almost cheated on me!"_

"_Oh, please, Stan! At least I didn't actually go through with it like you! How long has this been going on?!" She screamed back._

"_That's none of your damn business!"_

"_It is my business, you son of a bitch! I'm your fucking wife! I deserve these answers!"_

"_You deserve nothing! We've been married for all these years and all you do is drink and pop pills! We never talk! Why can't I have that girl that I married 6 years ago back?"_

_She lowered her voice and stared at him. "Honey, if you would have just told me-"_

"_I shouldn't have to tell you! That's the point! Our love is dead, Karen! It's gone! Over! No more!" He continued to shout at her and rubbed at his temples._

"_Stan, I have never stopped loving you."_

"_No, you've never stopped loving my money."_

_The harshness in the statement shocked her into silence. Of course she joked about only loving him for his money, but that wasn't true. She loved all of him._

"_Stan, please. We need to fix this."_

"_Karen, it can't be fixed. There's no more hope."_

"_Don't say that." _

_She let out a strangled sob and he finally looked at her. She never cried in front of him; she always went to a friend's house or to a guest bedroom. Their fate was finally settling in and they both realized that nothing could help them through this._

"_I need another drink." He said simply and went over to the bar that was in their bedroom. He downed four shot glasses and took a swig of her vodka._

"_Dammit, Stanley, that doesn't help with anything!" She yelled._

"_Oh, like you're one to talk. This stuff is like your drug. Speaking of drugs, I found pot in your purse yesterday, Karen. What's that all about? When did you become 17 again?"_

"_Who the hell told you that you could go through my purse?!" She said defensively._

"_Don't even think about changing the subject!"_

_Her mouth opened and closed again for a few moments._

"_Answer me!"_

"_No!" She screamed and started walking for the door. Her hand reached out and grabbed for the handle but a shot glass was thrown at her and shattered against the door not 3 inches from her head. She slowly turned and saw Stan's red, pissed off face._

"_We're not done with this conversation until I say we're done." He said in a very frightening, calm voice._

_He grabbed her head and practically ripped the clip from her hair causing a few pieces of hair to pull out. Knowing she made a mistake of even thinking about saying "no" to him, she just bit her lip and waited for what was to come. He pulled off her jacket and threw it across the room and then took off her blouse. He went for her pants and pushed her to the ground so he could take them off. Her head hit the floor a little bit too hard and things started to become a sort of blurry. Tearing her pants off along with her shoes he stared at her as he hovered above her._

"_What the fuck? You've been eating too much. Dammit, Karen, I told you not to get fat!" _

_Karen could handle name calling and other things but when a man commented about her body it went straight to her heart and broke it. She began to have doubts about the way men looked at her and wondered if she really was attractive. Tears streaked down her face as he tore away her panties and bra. After unzipping his pants and taking himself out, he spread her legs wide apart and thrust into her. She tried her best not to scream, but failed and received a blow from Stan._

"_Shut up! I don't want to hear another sound from you! Got it?"_

_She nodded and kept quiet the whole way through. After he was finished with her, he stood and zipped his pants back up. _

"_I want you out by nightfall. Don't let me find you here again. If anyone asks what happened, you're the one that left me. I don't want any more trouble and suspicion. Understood?"_

_Her whole body felt numb and she barely nodded her head "yes"._

"_Good. Now get going."_

_With that, he left and slammed the door shut. Knowing that she only had 2 hours until the sun went down, she immediately got dressed and gathered her stuff together. Making sure most of her things were out of the bedroom; she called for Rosario to get the rest and then got in the limo. She drove around for a while and came across The Palace Hotel. Checking herself in, she put her stuff in her room and then jumped in the shower. There, she finally let herself drown in emotion and cried for a long time._

Karen woke with a start; her body was shaking and she had broken out into a cold sweat.

"Fuck…" She muttered and fell back against the wet sheets. She hated these kinds of nights. Stan had died about 2 weeks ago and she couldn't get rid of these horrifying memories of him. She couldn't think of one happy memory with the exception of their wedding. Even that was a disaster considering how their marriage ended. Looking at the clock she saw that it was 5:02 am. She pulled the covers back and stripped off her night gown. After turning on the shower, she went back into the bedroom and took the sheets off her bed. She then got in the shower and just sat there for about 10 minutes. Karen finally decided to wash up and then got out; dressing in a pair of black slacks and a long sleeve, pink sweater; she sat down at her vanity and looked at herself in the mirror.

"…_dammit, Karen, I told you not to get fat!"_

Back then she weighed 130 pounds which was nowhere near being fat; now, she only weighed 107 pounds. Sighing she grabbed her makeup and began applying it to her tired face. She blow dried her hair and then brushed it. Putting a few curlers in, she got up and walked to her closet. She chose a Gucci bag, a long fur coat, and a pair of flats. She was so not in the mood to wear heels today. Once she was finished, it was about 5:45. Grabbing her coat and purse, she walked down the steps quietly and snuck out the front door.

As she walked the streets of New York she relaxed. It had been a long time since she had walked anywhere just by herself and she enjoyed it. Knowing exactly where she was going to end up, Karen turned left and used her key to get into the building. Hitting the 9 in the elevator, she used another key to open the door. Setting her purse and coat next to the door, she made her way into the bedroom and took her shoes off.

She smiled when she saw his peaceful face and knew she did the right thing. She always came here after a bad night and he didn't mind one bit. Climbing into bed, she snuggled up to his bare back and draped an arm around his middle.

"You came early today." He said sleepily.

"I woke up early." She stated and kissed the back of his neck.

He turned over and gathered her in his arms. "You had another nightmare, didn't you?"

She simply nodded and buried her face further into his neck, under his chin.

"Do you remember this one?"

Biting her lip, she sighed. "No."

She hated lying to him; it made her feel like a bad friend.

"I'm sorry, Karen. I wish I could help."

She looked up at him with a small smile and said, "You're all the help I need, honey."

**A/N: So? Good? Bad? Maybe so? Please comment!!!!**


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